Myths about underworld

Meng Po, the Lady of Forgetfulness, resides in the Chinese Underworld where she brews a magical soup for souls about to be reincarnated. Upon drinking this Five-Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness, spirits lose all memory of their previous lives and earthly attachments. This essential ritual occurs at the Bridge of Helplessness, ensuring that every soul enters their next existence with a clean...

In Chinese mythology, Diyu is the realm of the dead where souls are judged by the Ten Kings of Hell across ten specialized courts. Each king oversees specific punishments and rewards based on the actions of the deceased during their earthly life. After passing through these trials and viewing their former homes one last time, souls drink the tea of forgetfulness and are sent to the final...

Mulian, a devoted disciple of the Buddha, uses his supernatural powers to locate his deceased mother in the underworld. To his horror, he finds her reborn as a hungry ghost, unable to eat or drink due to her past misdeeds. Following the Buddha's guidance, Mulian performs a great act of merit that establishes the Ullambana Festival, ultimately securing his mother's release from suffering.

After the Tang Priest is kidnapped by the Golden-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit, Sun Wukong must descend into a subterranean labyrinth known as the Bottomless Pit. Discovering that the demon has ties to the Heavenly Court, Wukong seeks the help of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing and Prince Nezha to liberate his master. The tale highlights the struggle between Wukong's sharp...

After achieving great spiritual power and immortality through Taoist practices, Sun Wukong is mistakenly dragged to the underworld by two soul-catchers. Enraged by this bureaucratic error, he rampages through the realm of the dead and reaches the Hall of the Ten Kings. There, he forces the lords of hell to produce the Book of Life and Death, where he strikes out his own name and those of his...

After being banished by Odin, Hel descends into the misty realm of Niflheim to establish a kingdom for those who die of sickness and old age. She constructs her massive hall, Éljúðnir, furnishing it with symbolic items like the plate Hunger and the bed Sickbed to reflect the nature of those who suffer 'straw deaths.' This myth details her meticulous preparation of the underworld as a somber...

The legendary Danish king Hadding is led by a mysterious woman from the underworld beneath the earth during a winter feast. They traverse a landscape of mist, cross a river of weapons, and witness the eternal battle of fallen warriors. Upon reaching a high wall that separates the living from the dead, Hadding witnesses a miracle of rebirth before returning to the mortal realm with a deep...

After the tragic death of the god Baldr, the goddess Hel promises to release him from the underworld only if every living and non-living thing in the cosmos weeps for him. While the entire world mourns, a single giantess named Thökk, hidden in a remote cave, refuses to shed a tear, thereby sealing Baldr's fate. It is widely understood that Thökk was actually the trickster Loki in disguise,...

Following the tragic death of the god Baldr by a mistletoe arrow, his wife Nanna is overwhelmed by a grief so profound that her heart physically breaks. During the grand funeral at the shore, as she witnesses her husband being laid upon his great ship Hringhorni, her spirit leaves her body. She is placed on the funeral pyre alongside Baldr, ensuring their union continues into the halls of the...

Garmr, the blood-stained hound of Hel, guards the mouth of the Gnipahellir cave at the threshold of the underworld. According to prophecy, his thunderous howling signals the arrival of Ragnarök, the twilight of the gods. When the world begins to end, Garmr breaks his iron chains, escapes his subterranean vigil, and joins the final battle where he and the god Týr ultimately slay one another.